Family continues search for missing Falmouth boater

Family and friends of a young Falmouth man missing since Tuesday are continuing their search and vigil along the shores of the sea he loved so well.

KAREN JEFFREY

EDITOR'S NOTE: This story was updated to correct Daniel Andrade's hometown and the color of the hat he was wearing when he was last seen.

MASHPEE — Family and friends of a young Falmouth man missing since Tuesday are continuing their search and vigil along the shores of the sea he loved so well.

Mashpee police were also on the water and in the area Sunday searching for any sign of Daniel Andrade, 21.

Family friends and acquaintances who are divers drove from Rhode Island Sunday to aid in the search.

"I just want to make sure that people are aware that my brother is still out there. We haven't stopped looking; we'll never stop looking," Rachel Andrade said of her brother.

He is described as 6 feet tall and was last seen wearing sunglasses, a white baseball hat and a dark-colored Little River Boat Yard T-shirt.

Andrade was first reported missing Tuesday morning by co-workers at the Little River Boat Yard in Mashpee when he failed to appear at the docks in Popponesset Bay in New Seabury where he was scheduled to return an 18-foot Boston Whaler to its owner.

"It has been upsetting to discover, as we've walked along the beaches and talked to people, that most of them aren't even aware my brother is missing," Rachel Andrade said .

This is in contrast, she said, to the story of Jason Bryant, the 29-year-old West Yarmouth man who was found after a two-day search of collapsed tunnels in a Barnstable conservation area.

The story of the search for Bryant and the recovery of his body dominated news on the Cape and in Boston for several days.

"Everyone seemed to know about him. No one seems to know about my brother except those of us who love him," she said. "We're not blaming anybody. We just wish more people knew we are still looking for Danny."

Andrade left the boatyard around 9 a.m. Tuesday. When he didn't answer his cellphone, several employees started looking for him in the area. The Coast Guard was notified and began a water and air search.

The 18-foot Boston Whaler that Andrade was piloting was found at 12:35 p.m. Tuesday going in circles off Popponesset Beach.

The official Coast Guard search for the young Falmouth resident was called off Wednesday, but Mashpee police and firefighters continued to search the area.

The Coast Guard does search and rescue, but not recovery, which is usually handled by local authorities, Coast Guard Petty Officer Connie Terrell said in a previous interview with the Cape Cod Times.

Last month the Coast Guard called off its search for Province-

town resident Sean Strakele after 24 hours. Strakele, 37, disappeared while diving off of Provincetown. His body was found by a fellow diver in 56 feet of water a day later. The state police recovered the body.

On Thursday a citizen on Sampsons Island in Cotuit found sneakers owned by Andrade.

Upon learning of the discovery, Andrade's father, Glen, and six others went immediately to the island to continue searching.

"It's been up and down emotionally for all of us," Rachel Andrade said Sunday. "When we realize what we are doing — looking for him — we cry. But when we talk about him, we laugh. My brother's sense of humor kept all of us entertained."

George Regan, Mashpee seasonal resident and owner of Regan Communications in Boston, spent most of Sunday on the water searching for Andrade. "This is just awful. It's shaken everybody," said Regan, who got to know Andrade through the young man's work at the boatyard.

Regan spoke with Andrade's mother Saturday and said she continues to be distraught that her son has not been found. She cannot understand why the Coast Guard is not participating in the continuing search.

Neither can Regan.

"The Mashpee police deserve a lot of credit. They haven't given up," Regan said.